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TRP: Hansel and Mishka (Overnight)
WORD COUNT: 6250 Izzy: at 1:50 PM Shepherd Hills, Day 180, afternoon. It was odd how easy it'd been to slip back into the routine he'd grown up with. Twenty fucking years, but Hansel still woke up at dawn, and even though he went back to sleep for a while, he wasn't able to stay there once Leigh and Marion started moving around, and he got up and ready quickly, and joined Leigh for the morning chores despite his brother's protests. Hansel gave him a puzzled look. He wasn't here for a fuckin' vacation. He guessed Leigh must remember his whining the previous night about feeling useless, though, because he shrugged it off and let Hansel help. Went twice as fast with two people working. He supposed his mom was a bit too old for much manual labor anymore. He didn't particularly want to think about that; he'd always kind of assumed she'd outlive him, if he was being honest. She'd been young when he'd been born and his lifespan was shorter than hers, thanks to his orc father. Still might work out that way, but being reminded of her age was uncomfortable. Still, though, she had a hot breakfast waiting for them inside. There was a little reminiscing over the meal, but it was ... touchy. Difficult to talk about without bringing up Elijah, or Hansel's leaving. Just bits and pieces of a history, but it was one Hansel hadn't really shared with anyone but them. They stayed inside until it began to warm up around midday, and then Hansel went out into the woods to check out his old trails, see what remained and what had changed. It was still all largely familiar -- he made it out past the frozen creek, out to the lake. Didn't feel like going much further. The little cave he'd spent his last night at home in was out there, dark, like a single black eye. . He went home. Kept thinking of it that way even though it hadn't been, in years now. Strange. Leigh sat up in the loft, whittling, and watched him as he came back in without his hands pausing. Hansel'd seen the little wooden figurines that lined the mantelpiece, but hadn't realized they were Leigh's. There was so goddamn much he didn't know, but he'd talked so goddamn much the previous night that his throat still felt sore. The house was quiet, and -- it was nice. Not a tense silence. Just the creaking of the rocking chair as Marion darned a hole in a sweater, and the steady soft sound of knife against wood, shavings falling to the floor. So Hansel didn't say anything, and left his coat and his bandolier by the door, and picked out a book on the shelves over the couch and sat down to read. Quiet. Coyote: at 2:08 PM Even once he got to Shepherd’s Hill, it took time to find Hansel. It wasn’t like there was a fucking sign outside the correct house: Hansel Granger is here. So he went to the local bar, which was tiny. He put the mask on and made himself look human-- he didn’t change anything else, only his ears, making them round so he’d stand out less. There were five human peasants inside the bar, and they all gave him startled looks when he walked in, though Mishka had no earthly idea why. He flicked a bit of dust of his shoulder as he walked in the bar. Maybe he was just too good-looking or something. The old bartender, bless her, recognized Hansel’s name. She said that was Marion and Elijah’s boy, and said the boy disappeared twenty years ago. She pointed to a small out-of-the-way farm Mishka had already passed coming in. Mishka set a few good coins on the bar, thanked her, and left. He walked his horse up to the small farm, then rapped on the door. His heart thudded in his chest, suddenly. Please, god, let him be here. Izzy: at 2:20 PM It'd been quiet for so long that Hansel jerked when there was a knock at the door. One hand dropped automatically to the axes still at his belt, thinking danger, knowing better -- though there was always the chance that someone in town had seen him, recognized him, or -- wouldn't even have to really, they'd just see a fucking half-orc and come around with swords drawn, and -- Marion set the sweater aside and pushed herself up. Hansel felt like he should be doing it instead, but when he straightened -- hand still at his belt -- she waved him down. The door opened in. He couldn't see who it was, could only see her face in profile as she raised an eyebrow and politely asked, "Can I help you?" Coyote: at 2:24 PM A black-haired woman answered the door. “Well, good evening, miss,” Mishka said. “You must be Marion. Name’s Captain Mishka Haeth. Pleasure to meet me, I know. You’re charmed, I’m sure. Listen. I’m looking for a half-orc. Over six feet tall, gray skin, ruggedly handsome, eyes blacker than the midnight sky on a moonless night… oh hey, a lot like your eyes, actually. Neat. Anyhow, you seen him? His name’s Hansel Granger and we are married, although he appears to have hit his head and forgotten that, as he apparently abandoned me in the middle of the fucking night.”(edited) Izzy: at 2:33 PM Hansel recognized Mishka's voice from well and could only sit there with steadily growing eyes as he spoke. He opened his mouth and shut it. For -- for fucksake. The entire goddamn point of leaving the earring behind -- Hansel'd barely fucking gotten here, how had -- not that hearing Mishka's light elegant tone and his bullshit wasn't a comfort, but -- he wasn't supposed to fucking be here -- His mom's eyes slid to the side and registered his expression. "You must have the wrong house," she said, smoothly but firmly. "I'm sorry." She started to close the door and Hansel jumped up, tossing his book down. "No, no -- no no no." He caught it and stepped behind her, so that Mishka could see him -- more so that he could see Mishka, really. "No. Sorry. No. I, uh." Marion didn't move, like she was going to protect him from this beautiful stranger, eyeing him steadily for a sign she should back away. He ... didn't know what to fucking say. Or do. Just stood there staring at Mishka. Coyote: at 2:46 PM Hansel was okay. Clean. Dry. Warm. Unharmed. He looked… rested, too, maybe even more so than usual. Mishka took that all in at a glance, and it felt like a knot came undone in his chest. Alive. Alive. Breathing. Okay. “You motherfucker,” Mishka said raggedly. Whoa, hang on, he thought, mildly alarmed. If Hansel came here to hurt him-- if Hansel was even thinking about hurting himself, Mishka needed to-- Mishka needed to calm down, and talk through it with him, carefully, slowly, sweetly, backing off when Hansel was upset. Mishka needed to be sweet. He’d talked himself down all the way over here. He’d practiced what to say. Darling, please come sit with me. I need you to explain. Take your time, though. I’ll wait ‘til you’re ready. Come cry on me. “Oh goody,” Mishka said, his voice dripping with venom. “You’re not dead.” Izzy: at 2:58 PM Ah. Hansel felt himself go from nervous and confused to -- dejected understanding. Yeah. Reasonable. Mishka was fucking furious at him. He'd gotten here so quickly because he needed to give Hansel a piece of his fucking mind before the anger faded to apathy, and he left again. Right. "Yeah," he managed. "Sorry." Marion narrowed her eyes, then turned them back to Mishka. Hansel had told her about his magic, and his rapier, and she still moved to close the door in his face, kindly repeating, "You have the wrong fucking house." "Mom --." Hansel caught the door again. "It's -- fine." For fucksake. He brushed past her, grabbing his coat off the hook and stepping out onto the porch, muttering, "I'll be back," and closing the door behind him. He shrugged his coat on, and crossed his arms, and silently waited for Mishka to get whatever he needed to out of his system. Get it over with. Coyote: at 3:09 PM Nine Hells, no. You’re supposed to be angry back at me. Don’t fucking let me talk like that to you. You don’t deserve that. You don’t fucking deserve that! You don’t deserve people being shitty to you! He wanted to say, You’re okay. You’re okay. Everything is still good. He wanted to say, I love you. Instead, he couldn’t say anything. The words were too tangled in his throat. “You’re not dead,” he managed, again. Izzy: at 3:11 PM Hansel expected him to say something else, and when he didn't, just repeated, "Sorry," without looking at him. Coyote: at 3:16 PM “Sorry? What do you mean, sorry? Sorry you’re not dead? I’ve spent— so many years— trying to figure out how to— save you, or stop you, and you— you just keep apologizing for being alive—“ None of these were helpful words. None of this was good. “Why’d you leave the scrying earring behind?” he asked raggedly. Izzy: at 3:24 PM Hadn't fucking mattered, had it? Mishka had found him anyway. Hansel's best idea for keeping anyone from being able to come after him -- just leave behind the thing that Mishka had given him to track him down -- had fuckin' failed too. It'd taken all of a day for Mishka to catch up. Kind of worked out, though, still. Mishka was angry at him. And he should be, and it made it easier to fall back on why Hansel had left in the first place, even if he wasn't entirely fucking sold on that anymore. He shrugged, barely moving his shoulders. "Didn't want you to fucking find me." He could say so fuck off. He could say I don't fucking want you here. He could say don't you think I'd've told you that you could come with me, that you can be useful, at times, if I'd wanted you here? But he didn't have the heart for any of that. Wasn't that vicious. Wasn't that strong. Coyote: at 3:34 PM Occam’s Razor. The simplest explanation was usually the correct one. Of course that was it. Of course Hansel had simply left the earring behind because he didn’t want Mishka to find him. Unless Hansel was lying. Or leaving something out, like he usually did. It was fucking cold outside. Mishka hadn’t noticed, before. “I thought--” He ground his teeth. “I thought maybe--” He held up his finger. “-- it occurred to me, maybe, that you left the earring behind because you didn’t want us to find your body so Goro couldn’t use the Leech to bring you back. Because-- because why the fuck else would you leave it behind? If you didn’t want me to follow you, it it was just that, you could’ve just said the words, Mishka, don’t follow me, I need some time to myself, and I would’ve fucking done it, and I would’ve kept anyone else from going after you, too, and you know I would have, because--” Mishka ground his teeth again and stopped there. Because I love you. Because of that weird obedience kick. Because I’m your fucking slave and we both know it. Izzy: at 3:49 PM Hansel was quiet. Yep. Fuckin' ... spot on. He thought about the letter. Shouldn't've left the letter, if he'd been serious. Should've just fucked off without saying anything. Or come up with some bullshit about how he was leaving Mishka and Goro both -- might've been easier to write it than to say it. Couldn't lie to save his own fucking life or anyone else's, though. "Yeah," he said again. "No, you're right." He crossed his arms tighter. "Sorry." Coyote: at 3:57 PM “I’m— I’m ri—? Oh.” Mishka stared at him, dumbstruck, for a few seconds. Hansel still wasn’t looking at him. “Oh, Hansel,” Mishka said. And he stepped forward, moving to hug him, then hesitated, unsure, because Hansel’s posture was still tight, his face still stuck in its usual fuck off look. Izzy: at 4:10 PM No, that wasn't -- that wasn't what he was supposed to fucking do. He was supposed to be fucking angry. He'd been fucking angry and nothing had changed, he fucking knew -- he knew Hansel like a paperback with a broken spine, he'd known from the moment he'd opened that envelope. Had to. He wasn't supposed to sound fucking surprised, and hurt, and give a shit. He was supposed to be broken and walk away silently and cry about it later in some back alley while someone patted his back and shushed him and offered to kill whoever had hurt him. Hansel wasn't fucking good at this. He only ever managed to fucking break things by accident. But he managed to take half a step back, and still not meet Mishka's eyes, like -- maybe that'd do it. Coyote: at 4:16 PM Mishka took a equal step forward, still reaching. “Neshema,” Mishka said. “Please. I just— please.” He said, “It’s been five days since I held you. Please, I thought you were dead, I...” He caught Hansel by the arm. Izzy: at 4:25 PM "No." He pulled away again, shifting uncomfortably. "No, you're not -- you weren't supposed to --." It came out soft and strained. Stupid fucking letter. He should've tried harder, but he hadn't been thinking, hadn't known what to do, hadn't wanted to hurt Mishka until he'd realized that would be the only way to keep him away. He'd wanted to soften the blow, that was all. Been sure he'd get here and -- not fucking feel better, that was for sure; it was supposed to be the last stop. Mishka wasn't supposed to follow him. Should've thought ahead. Should've written something different, or not written at all, should've -- He couldn't fucking do it. Couldn't keep backing off. He gave in -- fucking stupid and weak and pathetic -- and met Mishka halfway instead, and held onto him like he really was fucking dying and Mishka had come to save him. Coyote: at 4:31 PM Mishka worked his arms under Hansel’s coat so he could hold Hansel closer. He reached up to wrap his fingers in Hansel’s hair, and he kissed Hansel’s jaw. He held there a long moment, breathing steam in the cold air. “Are you— not going to, then? Or do I still have to talk you out of it?” Mishka said. Izzy: at 4:39 PM I hadn't really decided was probably not the right fucking answer. He was still -- trying to justify it to himself. It still fucking made sense -- he was dangerous, he was a fucking monster, no one should want to save him anyway and certainly not at the expense of anyone else's life -- but he didn't have that gutwrenching certainty, now. He was back to being unsure. Fucking hated that about himself, too. He swallowed and shook his head, because -- it was manageable. Nothing had been fucking solved, but he wasn't in fuckin' fight-or-flight mode anymore, and he could think, and remind himself that he didn't actually want to die, he was just fucking afraid of anyone else dying. He didn't know if Goro would've told Mishka anything -- about the Scion. They must've talked, but -- the details -- he had no idea. "I just ... need other options," he said quietly. Coyote: at 4:44 PM Mishka caught the uncertain look on his face, and his stomach dropped again. No, he thought. “Yeah, okay.” Mishka whispered. That made sense; Mishka had done that, too. It was never that Mishka had wanted to die; it was just that at the time, it had seemed like the best option, the cleanest option. He cupped Hansel’s face and made Hansel look at him. “Hey. Hey. It’s okay. Neshema. We’ll come up with lots of options. Dozens of options. And that option-- you can keep that option, but it’s going to stay at the very bottom of the list, okay?” Izzy: at 4:58 PM That was -- fair. That seemed reasonable. Mishka was always so fucking reasonable when Hansel wanted to do stupid shit. Hans, maybe don't jump into the shark-infested waters just because I dropped my ring. Hans, not that you couldn't beat them, but it's not worth it to fight an entire family of goliaths because one of them made a rude gesture at Corven. Hans, you know I love you, but if you keep insisting you can drink your own weight in goldschläger, you will either go broke or die of alcohol poisoning. You're very heavy. Hansel. Please. Real fucking reasonable. It didn't quite work for him, though, this time. He wanted to nod, but hesitated. "No one else gets fucking hurt. I can't fucking -- I can't deal with that. Goro said --." Fuck, if Goro hadn't told Mishka already, Hansel didn't want to be the one. But -- Mishka was here right now, days away from Griffin, and Hansel could hold onto him and try to talk sense into him and if all else failed, by the time he could make it back to the castle, Hansel -- "I dunno if he told you." It all spilled out at once. "We found out who the fuckin' Scion of Gruumsh is, and -- it's Griffin, Raef's fiance, and -- Goro acted like -- the problem was solved, y'know, and -- I'm not gonna fucking let anyone hurt Raef like that. You can't -- you can't fucking touch Griffin. That's not an option."(edited) Coyote: at 6:27 PM Mishka didn’t react at first. He was frozen. Griffin, huh. “Goro said a lot of things,” Mishka forced out. Forcing himself not to react, not to give anything away. Fuck, fuck, fuck, why the fuck did it have to be Raef’s fucking fiancé. “He was—real fucking drunk, and real fucking upset. He only got… bits out.” Izzy: at 6:39 PM "Mm." Yeah. Fuck. He'd fucked that up. He let out a breath. That was -- a lot more fucking delicate than him and Mishka and he'd been pretty goddamn certain he'd managed to break them, for a while, there. Mishka was avoiding what he'd fucking said, though. He pulled away, a little, much as he didn't want to, to say, "Hey. I'm fuckin' serious. Goro wouldn't listen to me." 'Kay, he'd snorted, completely full of shit. Nothing. "No one fucking does anything to Griffin. I don't care what else that means. Not on the fucking table." Coyote: at 7:00 PM “Hans, look,” Mishka said. “Hang on. So, Gruumsh possessing you like this—that’s gonna eventually kill you, right? That’s gonna burn you out. Right? So what happens when it kills you, Hans? What then? Gruumsh is going to move to the next fucking person, and then they die. This isn't about you versus Griffin, this is about Griffin versus everyone else Gruumsh is going to possess and kill. What about those people? What about the next guy? They'll have fucking fiancés and families and kids too." He kept his voice quiet and calm when he said it. That probably wouldn't help, but-- fuck it. Izzy: at 7:08 PM "Then the next fucking guy's husband can kill Griffin," Hansel said flatly. "Mishka. No one else is gonna fuckin' die because of me and no one else is gonna fuckin' suffer." He hesitated. He hadn't been able to say it to Goro, hadn't had the words yet. "Don't fucking ... do that to me. Don't try to make me fuckin' live with that." Coyote: at 7:14 PM Mishka stayed close. Hansel sounded pissed, but hadn't pushed him away yet, so Mishka stayed right there, hands wrapped tight around Hansel's back. Mishka grimaced. He thought it over from every angle. They stood in silence for a while; Hansel would know if Mishka said yes immediately, then Mishka would be lying. "Okay," Mishka said. "Well... letting you die isn't on the fucking table, and I guess traumatizing you by getting Griffin possessed isn't on the fucking table, apparently, so... we'll find more things to put on the table. Fucking Hansel. Fucking stubborn. Fucking half-orcs. Fucking... fuck you, fine." He buried his cold face against Hansel's chest to warm it up.(edited) Izzy: at 7:22 PM "I never said me dying was option number fucking one," Hansel muttered, a bit sullen but squeezing Mishka against him. "Listen, I wanna fuckin' flip Gruumsh off and stab out the eye he's got left as much as you and Goro do, all right. Fuck Gruumsh." He rested his lips on Mishka's hair. God, this felt better already. All right. Mishka wouldn't lie to him. Wouldn't snort and blow it off and go behind his back. "Just felt like -- like once we found the Scion that was ... it. And that's not -- y'know. I can't." Coyote: at 7:37 PM "Neshema, I don't think that's what Goro meant," Mishka said. "I-- I mean, fuck, I wasn't there, maybe I shouldn't be talking. Maybe I ought not speak for him. But that little motherfucker loves you more than anything else in the world. If he knew killing Griffin would make you unhappy, even a slightest fucking bit unhappy, then he'd try everything else first. It's just that... I mean, it was probably a comfort to him, thinking, ah, here's a solution if everything else fails. I seriously fucking doubt that was 'it' for him. It's not like he was ready to jump on the first solution that presented itself even if that solution made you miserable. Alright? It certainly isn't like he fucking knew you'd run off and try to... to toss yourself in the ocean, or freeze yourself in the forest." Izzy: at 7:51 PM "I tried to --," Hansel started to object, but there wasn't much point to it. Mishka hadn't been there, like he said, and Goro had -- been fucking drunk, and -- Hansel had been keyed up from fighting Gavi, more ready to kill than to fucking talk and think. "I tried to make him fucking understand," he said anyway, lowly. "I told him it was off the table and he fuckin' ... blew me off, but -- he was goddamn drunk, I don't know. He said he just wanted to keep me alive and not possessed, he didn't --." He'd been fucking drunk. He hadn't been fucking thinking either. But Hansel had tried to explain, he'd tried to give Goro chances to back down, he'd ... "I know I fucked up. I was fuckin' ... scared," he mumbled. Coyote: at 8:14 PM Ha. That sounded like Goro, not fucking backing down. Telling Hansel to fuck off, they were gonna save him whether he liked it or not. “Hey,” Mishka murmured, and he stroked Hansel’s back. He wanted to say, You didn’t fuck up. And he didn’t fuck up, either. You’re both just people who love each other, alright. Sometimes shit just happens. It’s going to be okay. But he wasn’t sure that was… useful. And he wasn’t sure it was true, either, and he’d told Hansel he wasn’t fucking going to lie to him anymore. It’d wrenched his chest open, hearing Goro sob like that. He wanted to fucking kill the person who hurt him like that. Problem was, that person was Mishka’s husband. “You gonna come back home with me?” Mishka asked quietly. “You gonna talk to him?” Izzy: at 8:38 PM Hansel looked away again. He'd tried to make it ... gentle. But he fucking knew better than to walk away from Goro -- knew what it fucking did to people like the both of them. And he'd chosen to walk away when Goro was fucked up. He'd been fucked up too, jittery and defeated, but that didn't make it any goddamn better, what he'd done about it. It was a fucking lot to explain. Why he was here, and the layers of why he'd left -- hadn't just been fighting with Goro, he'd been planning to leave anyway, just not like that. "I think I ... shouldn't." He swallowed. No one needs me at the castle, except maybe Goro did, and now he probably doesn't, and --. "I think I'm -- gonna be more useful here. Y'know, my mom can't do much around the farm, and it's a lot for Leigh to handle by himself, and -- the spy shit, y'know, I'm not any good at it, and I'm just fuckin' sitting around worrying about Roddy and Jonn anyway, and --." He hadn't fucking meant to mention Jonn, but it was out there now, and he stopped himself. "I don't think Goro's gonna fucking want to hear anything else from me," he said quietly. Coyote: at 8:49 PM "Mm. Right. Well." Frankly he wouldn't be surprised if Goro was a few hours behind him on the road. He hoped Goro had the common sense to Send to him first, to make sure everything was good and Hansel actually was at Shepherd's Hill before he just came barreling over here, but sometimes Goro had more enthusiasm than sense. God, these fucking idiots. I don't think Goro's gonna fucking want to hear from me. Izzy: at 8:58 PM That wasn't much of a response, but Hansel guessed he didn't know what he fuckin' expected. Mishka wasn't in Goro's head. He couldn't tell Hansel that he was wrong, or that he was right. Maybe Goro would be the one to show up and chew him out for leaving and then fuck off again. That was what he fucking deserved from somebody, god knew, and his mom and brother hadn't done it, so he felt like he was due. "D'you ... wanna come inside, or are you heading back?" he asked awkwardly. "You don't have to stay. I'm all right." He kissed Mishka's head. "I mean it." Mishka knew he couldn't fucking lie. If he said it aloud, it was true. And he also knew Mishka would fucking hate it here -- too quiet, nothing to do. He had useful shit to do back at the castle. He'd be better off there. Coyote: at 9:02 PM Mishka felt his face turn pink. He glanced at the house behind Hansel, then looked away. "I'm allowed to stay?" he said, face still pink. Izzy: at 9:09 PM Hansel gave him a baffled look. "You're my fucking husband. Why wouldn't you be allowed to stay?" He guessed his mom had been kind of short with Mishka, but -- well, he'd had a shitty tone. Hansel would explain. It'd be fine. Coyote: at 9:14 PM "Ah, it's fucking-- it's nothing." Mishka tried to hide his embarrassment (of course, of course they were married, of course) and failed. He was a grown man. An all-powerful sorcerer. Right. "Yeah, for a couple days, maybe. Then I ought to get back, yeah." He edged into a different subject. "I probably shouldn't leave those fools along more than a week. Not with the Sanguines sniffing around. I'm just glad you're good." Izzy: at 9:20 PM Hansel narrowed his eyes. Yeah, that was ... true. Someone had to look out for that castle full of idiots, it just wasn't him -- and Mishka'd be better at it. This kind of shit was what he was good at. That and setting shit on fire. He was being fuckin' weird, though. "Uh. There's this Silvanus temple, 'bout a day off. They've got a circle there. You can get home quicker, when you want." If things got -- weirder. They probably would. They always fucking did. Not always worse, but always weirder. He pushed Mishka's hair behind one ear. "And you can use your real face, while you're here. My family knows you're an elf. I might've, uh. Talked about my beautiful pirate captain husband, little bit." Coyote: at 9:26 PM Mishka scoffed. "Maybe I like being human sometimes. I'm your beautiful pirate captain husband whether I'm an elf or not." He squeezed Hansel's hand. "I can already get home from here... I can draw a circle and teleport back to the castle whenever and wherever I want. But I'll go study the runes at the temple when I leave so I can come back when I need to." Izzy: at 9:49 PM Hansel gave him an amused, fond look. Marion and Leigh would probably be too polite to blurt, I thought your husband was an elf, but the idea entertained him. Didn't matter what Mishka looked like; he'd had a different face when Hansel'd fallen in love with him, and his appearance changing had never changed anything else. "All right. As va duri, as va dan." He kissed Mishka's forehead. Eldath. He'd been so fucking caught off-guard and concerned from the moment he'd heard Mishka's voice, but this was -- so much goddamn better. Having him around always was, even when he didn't feel like he needed someone to watch his back and keep him safe. Keep him safe from himself, more fucking like. He still wished that Goro were here too, but -- it'd fucking gone wrong and -- he'd just having to fucking deal with it later. Goro was days away. Or a fucking instant, with the circle, but Hansel felt better thinking of it the other way -- then it wasn't something he had to figure out how to fix immediately, had to figure out if he was supposed to fix. Or just leave it alone. Break Goro's heart to keep from hurting him further by fuckin' dying and refusing to be saved. Later. He dropped his arm around Mishka's shoulders and pushed the door back open.(edited) Coyote: at 10:20 PM Mishka grabbed Hansel's arm just as Hansel moved for the door. "Hansel, I have no fucking idea how to act like a normal person around your family," he whispered fiercely. Izzy: at 10:40 PM "Mishka," Hansel said. "Listen. When I showed up here yesterday, I fuckin' ... walked in, said I didn't know what I was doing, tried to run away, and then cried on the kitchen table for a fucking hour. If you acted normal no one would fucking know what to do with you." Coyote: at 10:48 PM "Oh good. Well. Amazing. Great. Awesome. Because I already made a complete ass of myself in front of your mom, oh my god," Mishka hissed, face pink again. Oh, god, he hadn't thought this through. Hansel only had one mom, and he potentially liked this one. It wasn't like Mishka's family-- Asenka was fucking dead, his mother was a witch, his father-- well, obviously his father... uh.... shit. Mishka hadn't thought about his father in a long time, actually. Hansel never had to do an awkward family meeting like this. "Marion," Mishka said, clearing his throat as they went through the door. "Uh, good to meet you. Again. And you must be... Leigh, apparently." Before this got weird, he pried the mask off his face, then tied it to his belt Izzy: at 10:59 PM Leigh had moved down from the loft, sat at the kitchen table instead with his boots propped up on the corner, still whittling slowly, fixing Mishka with a blank stare when they came in. Marion did the same from the rocking chair, looking up from her darning without stopping. Hansel gave Mishka a gentle squeeze. Ah. Yeah. He probably needed to ... explain Mishka's tone when he'd first shown up. Or maybe he should let Mishka do it. They might not fucking listen to him, though. But what exactly was he supposed to say? They were both just fucking staring, and oh god, now he got why people got intimidated when he thought he was just looking at them. "Mishka," he managed. "My husband. Y'know." Right, Mishka'd already introduced himself. Goddammit. "I, uh. I kind of fucked off without warning," he said apologetically, looking mostly at his mom even though he knew Leigh had been listening too. "We don't normally talk to each other like that. Everything's fine." Marion kept darning silently. Leigh briefly raised the hand his knife was in and offered, "Hey." This was going great. Coyote: at 11:04 PM "It's alright," Mishka said blithely. "The other one is better. The boyfriend, I mean." Well, that might be a lie. Sometimes Goro was great. Other times Goro started threatening to cut people's throats when he got antsy. Personally, Mishka found it charming, but maybe that was the wrong reaction. Izzy: at 11:10 PM "Hey," Hansel objected. "That's not -- neither of you is fuckin' better." He wanted to say you're the one I'm married to, idiot, but that seemed like more of a time thing than a quality thing. Fucking weird anyway. Leigh half-contained a snort and looked back down to his whittling, biting back a grin. Scowling, Hansel pulled Mishka over to the couch and finally figured he might should ask, "It's ... good if he stays, right? At least overnight." He guessed they could get a room at an inn, or something, but it seemed a bit stupid. "Of course, sweetheart," Marion said kindly. She hadn't taken her eyes off Mishka. Coyote: at 11:20 PM "Aha. If you're thinking murderous thoughts about how you'd kill me to protect Hansel, you're not the first," Mishka said. "Honestly that's the most common reaction people have to him-- amazing, really-- I have a ring that detects poison, though, so maybe keep that in mind, try to kill me a different way..." Oh, Correllon. He could tell he needed to shut up but he couldn't. He physically couldn't stop talking. "-- pardon my language on the doorstep. I thought he was dead." Mishka swallowed. That wasn't normal to say, either. He'd panicked. The entire way over here. It was just like the two months he'd thought Hansel was dead before, before realizing Hansel was alive in Skyport. Izzy: at 11:30 PM "Listen, our lives are really fucking stupid," Hansel said hastily, before either of them could comment on that. "This is pretty fuckin' normal for us." God, it was kind of fucking precious that Mishka was nervous, though. He guessed this was why Goro had been so amused and laughed at him for getting upset at Amari's. It was goddamn ridiculous. He didn't want to laugh, though -- understood the feeling too keenly. (Don't think about whether Goro would fuckin' freak out over meeting his family, too. Not useful.) He just tugged Mishka down onto the couch and wrapped an arm around his waist. "What a charming sort of ring," Marion commented. "Do people try to poison you a lot?" "Mom," Leigh said. "It seems like a reasonable question." Coyote: at 11:36 PM Mishka twisted the ring around his finger. He opened his mouth to explain that no, no one had ever tried to poison him-- at least not that he knew of, since he'd left Alabaster. Then realized a beat too late how paranoid that'd make him look, and closed his mouth again, wasn't sure what to say. He couldn't stop thinking about those two fucking months he'd mourned Hansel. He'd kept it together the past five days because he had to, because there was no other option. Now that he was allowed to break apart, he could feel the cracks coming. Mishka wet his lips. He could put the mask back on for thirty more minutes, then excuse himself to bed. "Oh, all the time, naturally. I can't imagine why, though." Izzy: at 11:41 PM Mishka was getting more fidgety. Hansel pulled him closer and kissed the top of his head, wanting to say hey, it's okay, everything's okay, I'm sorry I fucked up, I'm sorry I fucked you up. Say it'll pass, it'll get better, I'm sorry, it's okay -- just keep saying it until it was true. Kissed his hair a few more times instead. His mom seemed to pick up on it -- on some part of it -- and softened. She looked back to her work. "Hm. Jealous of your good looks, I'd bet." She glanced back up briefly with a slight smile. Coyote: at 11:52 PM "Well, obviously," Mishka said. He swallowed, and rested against Hansel, mentally revising his time estimate down, a little. He could say overnight, then stay part of the day tomorrow, then head to the temple. Come back some other time, once the awkwardness had passed and Mishka wasn't thinking about finding Hansel dead. "Thanks for having me," Mishka said. It was quiet here, and still. Just the sounds of the fire and the scrap of Leigh's knife against wood. He pulled a wool blanket from the couch and curled up against Hansel's side. And for the first time in what felt like days, he tried to sleep. February 5, 2019 Izzy: at 12:14 AM END Title: Overnight. Summary: Mishka shows up to save his idiot husband from his own low self-esteem. He agrees to not sacrifice Griffin to Gruumsh on Hansel's behalf and makes an awkward first impression on Hansel's mom and brother. Category:Text Roleplay